Another important resource at the gamemaster’s disposal that usually goes overlooked is to listen to the table. What I mean by that is as your players talk while they are at the table, listen to what they say. The players tend to talk about everything. They discuss their plans. They mull bits of information their […]
Running an RPG session without prepping can certainly lead to mistakes. However, I made a ton of mistakes even when I spent hours prepping. A gamemaster should never be afraid to retcon. Backtracking a bit to set something right is perfectly acceptable and players should understand that the even best GMs make mistakes. If You
No-prep GMing can be very rewarding. However, one of the biggest pitfalls can be names. Coming up with exciting people and place names on the spot can be the death of even the best gamemasters. The main trick to not having every NPC named Bob or every town named Springfield is to have lists of
Creating a world for an RPG campaign does not have to be a solitary experience. A lonely gamemaster sitting at a computer desk creating reams of material dreaming of friends who actually want to play role-playing games as desperately as he does is not a healthy state of being. Have your players help you create
If you are creating your own setting for an RPG campaign there are some keys to not losing your mind. Let me back up to say worldbuilding is a ton of fun. That’s why it is easy for some gamemasters to get a little out of hand. We are looking for an outlet for our
Gamemasters sometimes you need time to think during a session. Other times you need a place to start your campaign or session. If you are playing Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder or another combat heavy tabletop RPG, you’re in luck. Combat is a great stalling tactic as well as a great place to start an RPG
A gamemaster needs situations and complications, not huge epic stories and plotlines. For the no prep GM this is where that catalog of stories we talked about comes in handy. Don’t think of a plot Don’t think of an event follows another event or that event is triggered by this event. Once your players begin
This is a bonus tip for gamemasters who do not have time to prepare. While you’re consuming stories, reading books, watching TV shows or movies you can actually just take the scenario and the story of the book or movie and run it as an adventure or an RPG campaign. Simply take the movie or
Published RPG adventures, often called “modules,” can help the gamemaster who doesn’t have time to prepare. These are ready-to-go adventures that can be run by anyone. However, there are some drawbacks. The Downside of RPG Modules The first drawback is cost. If you’ve already spent a hundred $200 or $300 on RPG books and other
The best tool for the no prep gamemaster is the random table. A random table is simply a list of items, objects, people, places, situations, complications that are given a number so that dice may be rolled to chose one at random. The random table is the gamemaster’s most faithful best friend. Random Tables Cut
No prep GMing comes down to the mindset of how you approach the game. If you approach the role-playing games as the game master who has to know everything and control everything, you just put a ton of pressure on yourself. However, if you can get into the mindset that you are here to have
It is a dirty little secret among the role-playing game community, but there are very few people who actually want to be a gamemaster. Or least who want to be a GM exclusively. I think that is because the role of the gamemaster is misunderstood. Let’s take a look at what the role of the
The first time I ever GMed a tabletop roleplaying game session was the day after I played Dungeons & Dragons for the first time. I ran my mom through a simple dungeon. Rules? I didn’t really know the rules other than what I had just learned (and distorted) the night before. I was nine years
Make Character Actions Descriptive “Umm… Since I can’t do anything else, I guess, I attack him.” Rolls dice. “Umm… A fourteen, that’s a hit.” Ok, so we’ve all done this. I’m an offender as well. But, when written this way, it’s plain for everyone to see. If you are not being descriptive when declaring your
by Andrew Nagy As far as I’m concerned, the cardinal rule of roleplaying, as well as most of life, is “Don’t be a jerk.” Tabletop RPG is a hobby, and as such the highest goal is always to just have fun. People who are jerks (whether it’s the GM or a player) tend to ruin
